Rooster2

Sounds like the latching mechanism is giving you trouble. You will need to remove the inside panel off the door to see what the problem is. That can be difficult with the door closed. Open the other rear door, and pulling on the door release handle, see what moves at the latch mechanism to release the door from the frame. Once you find that out, then see if a thin knife blade can be inserted from inside the car to the precise point to release the door latch on the offending door. Once you get the door open, then remove the panel to repair the latch mechanism.

I have replaced the filler pipe to both my 98 and 99 Outbacks, because of leaks. Midwest salt on the roads finally takes its toll. I see you live in Michigan, so you get the salt treatment in the winters too. Replacement fill pipes available from on line auto parts stores. I bought mine from Rock Auto. Installation is a dirty job, but rather easily do-able. If you have a 99 or 00 model Legacy, with an auto tranny, then Trans-X fixes the delayed tranny forward engagement. The "fix" will last about a year. Repeated use of Trans-X fixes the problem for another year. Trans-X is not knows to help any other auto trannies.

OEM wires are good for far more then 35K miles. When I bought my 99 OBW in 2006, it had 148K on the odo. It still had its original plugs and wires. Wires were still going strong. Plugs were worn down to nothing.

+1 vote for MMO. Yea, I forgot about that product too. Good stuff, been around for years. I recommend it.

Post says he has a clutch, so agree, sounds like a slipping clutch

Fully agree..........I have read similar stores of Blue Devil working on American engines with head gasket or head problems. As said, it won't work on a Subie. The pressure from the very hot exhaust can't be stopped by Blue Devil additive entering the cooling system. Your "able to drive my 2.2 Outback without overheating as long as I don't over stress it," simply means that driving the car very easy is keeping the aluminum head from heating up and flexing (expanding), which then allows the exhaust gas to enter the cooling system. I bet your car will idle on your driveway for hours without over heating. Yet, go out and drive up a long steep hill, and it is sure to over heat.

Check engine light addresses pollution control issues with the engine. As others said, pull the codes. Car parts stores like Auto Zone or Advance Auto Parts will pull the codes at no charge for you with your car parked in front of their store. The code read out will tell you what needs to be repaired. Issues with the A/C, cruise control, and dome light, you will need to have each repair diagnosed separately. I hope you knew about all these problems before purchasing the car.

Just for giggles, I checked what might be available on e-bay motors. Went to their website, went to search screen, typed in "2006 Subaru impreza owners manual." I found about six available for sale, with average price around $10.

Subaru 2.2 motor seldom has head gasket problems, buy yet I had that problem on a 91 Leggie years back. As mentioned, if your replacement thermostat is a "cheapie," that could be your problem. You need to spend around $30 to know that you are buying a good thermostat. Also, did you "burp" the refill on the radiator. It is better to fill the radiator with the car on an incline, as it lets the air out of the radiator easier. Also, loosen the vent plug on the opposite side from the radiator cap. That too, helps to get rid of air in the cooling system.

Trans-X works great on 99 & 00 Leggies with delayed forward tranny engagement problems. Not aware of it having any benefit for any other applications. Unaware that the product has caused any problems.

With slightly more build up and crud on cyl 3 plug, this could be an indicator that the spark plug wire(s) are bad to create the mis-fire on cyl 3. How old are the plug wires on the car?? I realize that your funds are tight, but suggest if you buy good plug wires, then buy a set costing $40+. Cheapie house brand wires from an auto store have a reputation of working poorly in a Subaru. If need be, buy used plug wires from a wrecking yard. Start by changing only the cylinder 3 plug wire first to see if that fixes the problem.

The only purpose of the heat shields is to prevent starting a fire, if you ever park in high dry weeds after the car had been running for a while. In my experience, the Y pipes don't rust much to cause problems. If you can't detect (hear) an exhaust leak from the Y pipe, then IMO there isn't any need to remover the heat shields looking for a problem.

Yes, I think the wrecking yard is the best approach. +1 on advise about it being a 2 or 3 man job. Tail gates are really heavy and cumbersome.

Sounds like you did everything to firm up the pedal. Maybe the master cylinder is bad.

Back to basics..........what seems to be the problem with the car?? Please describe the trouble. How many miles on the car?? Why is a compression test recommended?? My experience with Rislone is that the product is a detergent, and helps to clean out grime build up in the oil and fuel systems. Nothing more then just that. Rislone will not coat anything, or re-seal anything.

Suspect it is a bad bearing in a pulley, likely driven by a fan belt. If you are fortunate, it is the alternator, which is not difficult to replace. Remove one belt at a time to see if that stops the noise, to help you identify which pulley. If not there, then one of the pulleys, or tensioners associated with the timing belt. It is something you need to fix right away, before the bearing fails completely "locking up" the pulley.

Maybe a dealer can help you.

Probably difficult to bypass the whole unit with toggles. I have replaced units in my 98 and 99 OBW, that were ruined with soft drink spills on the buttons. Your 92 Leggie controller is pretty similar to mine. Suggest your score a couple of units from a wrecking yard. They don't cost much, so with two, you surely will find one that works well. I have always found that a lot easier, then trying to be an electronic tech searching for blown diodes, and bad circuitry. Spell check on this forum works with my PC. Misspelled words gets underlined in red ink. Are you using a Chrome word pad or Linux operating system?? If so, maybe the cause of no spell check.

I agree with Nipper on using thicker oil. 0W -20W just seems to thin, especially at the 0W end of the spectrum, when cold. Agree it is to max out MPG, but at what expense to engine long life. If it were me, I would use a 5W-20 year around. I wonder if there are any lab tests available that show wear factor over the life time of a 200K miles engines, compared to other weight oils. That should make for interesting reading.

I heard many times from head light manufacturers advocating the replacement of both bulbs, when only one has burned out. I never bought into that idea, and have always just replaced the one that had burned out. Just seemed dumb to replace a bulb that was working properly.

Sounds like the shutter is typical clutch slippage of a worn out clutch. Only way to fix this is to replace the pressure plate, and anything else on the clutch assembly that is worn out.

I bet you check very very carefully that the replacement tranny is properly seated when installed.

Your story is one more bad reason to buy an extended car warranty. I have heard far more bad stores then good stories regarding car warranty policies. For what it is worth, I have had two cars that over heated from either head gasket trouble, or a leak in a hose, that has caused the radiator to leak. So, I believe your story that you were not seeing any leakage on your drive way or elsewhere. Suggest you continue to be super persistent with your insurance claim. Be polite, firm, and not verbally abusive or threatening in talking further with them. Keep climbing higher and higher in management to pursue your claim if need be. Don't be afraid to contact the President of the insurance company. Get the dealer to put in writing that Subaru adds additive to the coolant that may be noticeable on the radiator cap. Send this info to the insurance company, if you need to be persistent. Good luck. Keep us posted on your results.

I think the AZ guy is mistaken. His implication is that antifreeze is corrosive to rubber, and that is not the case. The top and bottom radiator hoses in all cars are rubber hoses that suffer no ill effect from antifreeze. Use the fuel hose with no concerns. Rubber hoses cannot be used with brake fluid. Maybe that is what the AZ guy was thinking.

Your original post implied that the vibration started after replacing the ball joints, and not before. If so, it is difficult to understand how the steering rack could be the culprit. I am always wary of a dealership wanting to throw parts at a car in hopes of fixing a problem. Having them "throw on" a new rack would not be cheap, nor any firm guarantee that it will correct the problem. If you have the time, I would like to drive your car to experience the vibration problem. Maybe I can help better to diagnose. Larry